Chapter Eleven #4
“Well, I don’t mind you being my partner, Counselor. It’s been so much fun,” he said. “Feel free to jump in and ask questions if something pops into your mind. I welcome the feedback and assistance.”
When Will stopped, Corbin turned to see why, and he was caught off guard when his man kissed him.
It wasn’t wild, or crazy.
It was a sweet kiss, and it filled Corbin’s heart with tenderness and love. He had been empty after the assault, and between this man, and his best friends, Gene and Ethan, they were slowly refilling him.
When Corbin broke the kiss, he smiled at his lover.
“That was a really great kiss, Counselor. You should do it more often. I liked it,” he admitted.
Immediately, Will was relieved.
At first, he wasn’t sure if he would, but his gut said to go with it.
A kiss wasn’t scary.
Was it?
This was new territory, and he wasn’t sure how Corbin would react. Only, he was trying to navigate this as best he could in hopes of finding the lost part of Corbin.
“I’m glad. I didn’t know if you wanted me to do that, but I felt compelled. Thank you for bringing me here, and making me part of your world. I love it.”
Corbin lifted his chin.
As he did, he stared into his eyes, and he was one hundred percent honest.
“You can always kiss me, Will. I’ll never turn that down. I happen to love kissing you, and it makes me feel safe when you do. Don’t second-guess yourself. That’s not fair for you. We’re in a relationship, and I need you to be you, so that I can find me.”
He palmed both sides of Corbin’s head, lovingly between his hands.
“You will find him. We’ll find him together. I promise that one day, he’ll be back.”
Corbin hoped he was right, because he didn’t like the alternative.
“And if he’s not?”
His man fought for him because he knew Corbin was worth it.
“I love this Corbin, too. He’s sweet, smart, and fun to be around. I’ll always love him until my dying breath. I promise.”
He hoped so.
That was what kept him going.
Gently, he rested his forehead against Will’s, and took in that very precious moment. In it, they both found peace.
“You good, Corby?” Will asked.
The man nodded.
“Yeah, Baby, I’m good,” he said, because he was.
That was good, because Will was ready to have more of an adventure, and this one was him getting insight into Corbin’s life as a detective.
“Great. Let’s go rough up an ME for information. I’ve always wanted to do that,” he said.
Corbin laughed.
“I think you have the wrong idea about how we do our jobs. I have never ‘roughed up’ an ME. They have sharp objects at their disposal, and they get pokey when you annoy them.”
He laughed.
“Show me what you do. It’s sexy.”
Well, if he wanted to watch, all he had to do was ask.
As they reached the morgue, Corbin held up his badge, and introduced himself to the doctor on duty.
“I’m Detective Corbin Price, and this is my associate Will Barker. I believe your homicide captain called down,” he said.
She nodded.
“Yes, he did. I’m Doctor Nayeliz Ortiz. Welcome to my morgue,” she said. “I hear you need some reports. I can give you them,” she offered as her morgue assistant was not far from her, cleaning up.
Corbin was glad the call had been made.
When a tray was dropped not far away, Corbin jumped, caught off guard.
He was still twitchy when it came to certain things. Loud sounds were one of them.
The doctor apologized.
“I’m sorry,” she offered. “This is Lance Ruiz, and he’s my head lab assistant. Apparently, he wants to check our reflexes,” she admitted, laughing.
The man nodded and picked up the kit he’d accidentally dropped on the floor.
“Sorry about that,” he said. “Butter fingers.”
He didn’t mind.
Honestly, Corbin liked how everyone here was friendly.
“Thank you, Doc. No need to apologize. Cops get twitchy,” he admitted. “How about we get those reports and get out of your hair?” he suggested.
She smiled at him, as she set her hair free, letting it drop around her shoulders.
It was clear to Corbin that she was still in her personal protection gear, so that meant she’d likely been working on an autopsy.
Well, he was grateful the body was put away. He’d be fine, but Will, not so much. He didn’t hang out in morgues as a lawyer.
Stripping out of her paper gown and tossing it in a bio bin, she walked toward her office, having them follow her. When she got there, she sat behind the big, mahogany desk, and turned her monitor around.
It was clear she was ready for them.
“Captain Marrero said that the FBI is taking over the cases. It’s crazy since I feel like it’s going back and forth between the two departments.”
Yeah, he could see why she felt that.
“There were extenuating circumstances that made that happen,” Corbin said, giving her nothing else.
The woman seemed to accept that.
“I did the original autopsy on Jaden Mendin. He was found on the beach, and was a mess.”
She flipped through the photos.
When she tapped the screen with her long, black nail, Corbin was curious how she did an autopsy with her claws. It was crazy.
But to each their own.
“The markings look ritualistic, as I noted in my report that went to the detective. As for everything else, I found LOTS of BFT,” she said. “Do you need me to explain that?”
He shook his head.
“We’re both familiar with blunt force trauma. You’re good. You can use the abbreviations. My associate here is a district attorney. He’s accustomed to murders, and I’m homicide.”
She smiled at him.
And Will saw it.
It wasn’t a ‘I’m friendly’ smile. It was more a ‘you’re attractive, and I’d like to get to know you’ smile—which didn’t shock him. Most cops dated people who worked in similar fields.
Ethan and Gene were both Feds.
He was an attorney, and Corbin was a cop.
As for her smile, he knew it was more because he’d used that same smile on Corbin that first day he saw him in his parents’ pub.
Oh, well, he had bad news for her.
That wasn’t working.
Someone’s gaydar was broken or in the shop. She could smile at him all she wanted. He wasn’t into the ladies.
Thank.
God.
“Good,” she said, focusing on the man. “Anyway, there was massive BFT, and the victim had so many broken bones that I lost count of the fractures. I ended up taking MANY X-rays, and all of them showed the trauma—as in his whole body. It was like he was being battered like a pinata at a child’s party. ”
Corbin was curious.
“And any other trauma to him other than what you found on the X-rays?”
She contemplated it.
“He had ligature abrasions around his ankles and wrists. So, he was either having fun before, or not having fun,” she said, winking at him.
Will almost wanted to laugh.
From the way she tapped her nails on the desk, to the way she was leaning toward Corbin, giving a tit shot, he was amused.
Corbin wasn’t even noticing, and that said a lot about his man.
More than she was taking in.
Someone wasn’t reading the room.
She flipped screens.
“What finally did him in was the last hit to his head. His COD was a brain bleed due to a fractured skull. It’s weird that someone just beat him senselessly. When I passed that off to the detective, he asked about drugs.”
Corbin was curious, too.
“Did you find any in his system? Because if someone tried to tie me down, I’d fight like hell.”
She grinned at him.
“Do you find yourself in that predicament often, Detective?” she asked.
No.
Comment.
“No,” he said. “Again, were there drugs?”
She shook her head.
“No, but that’s not saying he wasn’t drugged. From the formation of bruises, someone was tortured for hours. If he was initially drugged, at the twelve-hour mark, any roofie or chloroform would be out of the victim’s system.”
He considered that as he was looking at the photos on her monitor.
“Anything odd in your findings? This case just screams abnormal to me.”
Will sat there saying nothing, just taking it all in. What was wild for him was Corbin not seeing how the woman was flirting with him.
Unless he was accustomed to it, and was blowing it off.
Well, hell.
He hadn’t considered that.
“Yes, there was,” Nayeliz admitted. “And weirdly enough, we found trace of herbs and sugar in the fabric of his clothes, and in his hair. It was sticky, and didn’t wash away in the ocean water.”
He lifted a brow.
“Herbs and sugar?” Corbin asked.
She nodded.
Yeah, he took a shot at it, considering what he knew about the symbols on his body.
“Ritualistic herbs?”
She pulled up a list of tox and other substances. Then, she pointed.
Apparently, the nails came in handy.
Corbin read along, as she directed his gaze.
“Here’s what I found. Calamus, Cedar, Althea root, and a shit ton of sage. His clothes were permeated with it. If that doesn’t scream ritualistic, I don’t know what does. Add in the symbols on his body, and like I said, it was all weird.”
Corbin was going to have research to do.
That was for sure.
“I looked up the symbols, and what I managed to find was that they can be used in Voodoo or any Afro-Caribbean religion. I don’t know how that will help, since that is pretty common here.
It’s called Sanse on the island, and the only reason I’m familiar is my grandmother was a practitioner. She was also batshit insane, so...”
Corbin was making notes.
He needed to be thorough for Gene and Ethan, since he knew they wouldn’t be rechecking his information. That they had faith in him helped Corbin have faith in himself.
“I know I told Detective Figueroa that when I updated him on Jaden Medin’s autopsy. He said he was going to be researching it. It’s a shame what happened to him,” she offered. “I really hope it’s not Sanse. It gets a bad rap here when people misunderstand it.”
Corbin was curious about a few things.
“Does it?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Yes, it’s a very beautiful mix of a few religions. It’s like if Voodoo and Catholicism had a baby. That would be Sanse.”
Interesting.
He kept asking questions.
“Did you do the cop’s autopsy?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“No, that was done by the FBI. I did Jaden Mendin’s, and that’s it, so I don’t have the report.
You’d have to get it from them. I didn’t see the body either—if that’s your next question.
The FBI released it to the family once they processed it.
I think he was buried or cremated. You’d have to talk to them. ”
Corbin made notes.
Oh, they’d be doing just that.
If he knew Gene, and he did, the man would have that on his list of things to do today. If anything, he liked to cover his bases.
“Thank you, Doctor,” he admitted.
She smiled.
“Well, here’s my card,” she said, writing her personal number on the back. “Call if you need ANYTHING at all.”
Corbin picked it up, and before he could say something, she continued.
“And I do mean, anything, Detective. I hope your stay here is welcoming. If not, I can help you with that too,” Nayeliz offered.
Instead of being offended, Corbin smiled. You got more answers from an ME when you were nice, and he wasn’t sure if he’d have to come back again if there was another body.
As for her comment…
Oh, she’d been heavily flirting since the second she ripped off her paper scrubs. Only, he knew when to ignore a flirting person and play dumb—especially when your significant other was in the room.
Corbin wasn’t stupid.
Now that he had the information, it was safe to be honest with her, and important that he did since Will was right beside him.
“I appreciate that, Doc, but I’m in a relationship, and it’s incredibly serious. Like, get married serious. Sorry,” he offered.
Immediately, she sighed.
“Oh, I get it. All the cute ones are taken,” she stated unapologetically. “Call if you have work questions then. I’ll be more than happy to help you, or your co-worker here with the case.”
Oh, he would.
He’d pass that off to Gene, and let him decide what he wanted to do. This was, after all, his case.
As they got up, and headed out, Will was quiet. Well, that was until they got to the stairwell.
Then, he went there.
“Do women hit on you all of the time?” he asked. “Like that?”
Corbin laughed.
“Oh, boy. How do I answer this?” he asked, knowing it was a slippery slope.
FOR.
HIM.
Partners in relationships didn’t like hearing about people making plays for their significant others.
EVER.
Will stopped him when he opened his mouth to do what seemed to him was going to be nothing but deflection.
“I’m not jealous. I’m just curious. Really. Being gay isn’t a choice, so I have nothing to worry about. You’re attractive, so I get it.”
Corbin shrugged.
Then, he trusted that Will wouldn’t be angry.
“I mean, it happens. When you work with cops, MEs, attorneys, etcetera, you get hit on by the people in the same field as you.”
Will shrugged.
“I don’t mind. My man is sexy. I don’t blame her. All the cute ones are gone,” he said, slapping Corbin on the ass, and then jogging up the stairs.
He stood there staring at him.
Why?
Because he liked it.
For some reason, that slap on the ass didn’t bring terror and fear. It made him smile because he knew it was done in love.
It appeared that Corbin was still alive inside—deep down.
“They hit on me ALL of the time!” he called after his man as he followed him up the stairs.
From Will, there was laughter.
And Corbin couldn’t wait to get to wherever Ethan and Gene were. That slap gave him a little tingle.
Maybe there was hope.
And he needed to share that with someone.
Maybe there was an end to this long, monotonous tunnel.
Afterall.